‘Oh, Canada’: Wood River’s Mike Young brings home hardware from Americas Masters Games

Senior athlete does well at Americas Masters Games

Wood River’s Mike Young, foreground, with other members of Team USA at the Americas Master Games last week in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Submitted Photo

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Mike Young’s first venture north of the border yielded plenty of hardware, as well as a new appreciation for Canada.

Young, a senior track and field athlete from Wood River, brought home a silver medal and a pair of bronze medals from the 2016 Americas Master Games, held Aug. 26-Sept. 4 at the University of British Columbia.

“Vancouver’s a beautiful city and the people were amazing,” said Young, 54. “We had the opportunity to meet so many people from different countries. This is by far the best trip I’ve made since I started competing four years ago.”

Young brought home a silver medals from the long jump competition and a silver as a member of the USA 4 x 100-meter relay team. He finished third in the triple jump for his bronze medal.

“I entered five events and my realistic goal was to bring back at least one medal,” Young said. “I felt I had the best chance to medal in my jumping events. I was also hoping to advance to my sprint finals 100 meter and 200 meters.”

Mission accomplished. Young also advanced to the finals of the 200-meter run and finished sixth overall. He also made the 100-meter dash finals, finishing seventh.

The Americas Masters Games are for athletes age 30 and older. The nine-day event featured opening ceremonies, a Celebration Center and Closing Ceremonies, as well as competition in 21 events, including track and field, , swimming, softball, squash, archery, badminton, baseball, basketball, curling, cycling, field hockey, golf, ice hockey, judo, karate, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, softball and table tennis.

The track and field events took place over four days.

All ceremonies were held in downtown Vancouver.

“The opening ceremony was awesome,” Young said. “Cameras were everywhere and many fans cheering and taking our pictures. The people of Vancouver asked many questions and we, as USA team members, had a great experience.”

On his first day of competition, Young ran the 100 preliminaries and advanced to the finals. He also qualified for age 50-54 long jump finals.

On Day 2, Young took advantage of cooler temperatures that ranged from 53 to 65 degrees. He competed in the long jump finals and took part in the triple jump prelims, advancing to the finals.

On the third day of the track competition, Young fought off sore knees and leg stiffness and grabbed the bronze in the triple jump finals, finishing behind a jumper from Sweden, who won the gold, and a British jumper, who won the silver medal. He also advanced to the 200-meter finals.

The final day saw Young and his relay teammates capture the silver medal, finishing second to the Canadian 50-54 team that broke the Canadian 4 x 100 relay record that had stood for 15 years.

In just his fourth season in senior track, Young is ahead of the pace he set last season. He’s captured 27 medals.

“This has been a great season,” Young said. “I’m running faster and jumping farther than I did four years ago.”

His next meet will be the Illinois Senior Games Sept. 17-26 in Springfield, followed by Huntsman Senior World Games Oct. 1-7 in St. George, Utah.

Young said he’d like to return to Vancouver someday – to see the sights.

“Vancouver is a beautiful awesome and great place to visit,” he said. “I’d like go back on vacation to see more of the city.”

Wood River’s Mike Young, foreground, with other members of Team USA at the Americas Master Games last week in Vancouver, British Columbia.

http://thetelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_97MikeYoung2.jpgWood River’s Mike Young, foreground, with other members of Team USA at the Americas Master Games last week in Vancouver, British Columbia. Submitted Photo